451 


$B    271    77D 


Shiph 


■EKKELEY      | 

GENERAL 
LIBRARY 

UNtVEftSftY  KM 
CALIFORNIA 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/artificialflieshOOshiprich 


•  .0 


^ 


Entered  according  to  Act.  of  Congress  in  the  year  1888,  by 

MALCOLM  A.  SHIPLEY, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


PRE8S  OF  SPANQLEB  &  DAVIS  : 
PHILADELPHIA 


SS&-. 


OF 

Fly     M  aking, 


* 


"►LY-making  is  an  art  which  dates  back  long 


before  the  time  of  Isaac  Walton,  who  is 
the  patron  saint  of  all  anglers,  and  is  both  pro- 
fitable, amusing  and  entertaining,  besides  afford- 
ing that  pleasure  which  comes  from  being  able 
to  catch  fish  with  a  lure  which  you  have  made 
yourself. 

This  short  treatise  is  not  intended  to  be  at  all 
exhaustive,  but  to  give  some  plain,  practical 
directions  for  tying  the  flies  usually  used,  which 
when  thoroughly  mastered,  salmon  and  other 
intricate  flies  can  be  tied  almost  by  intuition, 
and  I  would  remark,  before  commencing,  to  the 
would-be  learner,  do  not  be  discouraged  with 
your  first  flies.  Remember  that  trout  and  bass 
do  not  look  closely  to  see  if  a  fly  is  handsomely 

M842G71 


4  THE    ART   OF    FLY    TYING. 

made  or  not,  and  I  have  seen  artificial  flies 
which  for  appearance  were  anything  but  neatly 
made,  take  fish  as  well  as  others  which  were 
everything  that  could  be  desired. 


The  implements  used  in  fly  tying,  are  a  pair 
of  sharp  pointed  embroidery  scissors  of  fine 
quality,  or  better  still,  a  pair  with  curved  blades, 
a  stilletto,  a  vise,  either  plain  or  with  an  attach- 
ment for  screwing  it  to  the  table  (like  cut,)  and 
a  pair  of  spring  plyers.     We  would  strongly  urge 


THE    ART    OF. FLY   TYING.  5 

our  readers  to  learn  to  make  their  flies  without 
the  aid  of  the  vise,  as  we  firmly  believe  they 
can  be  made  better  and  stronger  and  more 
quickly  without  its  aid,  with  the  possible  excep- 
tion of  intricate  salmon  flies. 

HACKLE   FLIES. 

We  will  first  take  up  the  hackle  flies,  as  they 
are  the  most  simple  in  construction.  Select 
first  the  hook,  which  for  making  a  neat  fly  must 
always  have  a  taper  shank.  The  most  approved 
patterns  for  fly  tying  are  the  Sproat  and  Lim- 
erick, but  for  Hackle  and  Palmer  flies  many 
persons  use  what  is  known  as  the  Sneck  Bent, 
and  we  think  with  good  reason,  as  any  hook 
without  a  side  bend,  if  placed  between  the 
leaves  of  a  book — which  will  represent  for  our 
purpose  the  mouth  of  a  fish — you  will  notice,  can 
readily  be  withdrawn  without  the  point  enter- 
ing. Now  if  a  hook  like  the  sneck  bent  be  so 
placed,  it  cannot  be  removed  without  catching 
on  one  of  the  sides. 

Select  a   brown  hackle,  a  piece  of  peacock 


O  THE   ART   OF    FLY   TYING. 

herl,  from  which  cut  for  a  trout  fly  four  strands 
close  to  the  quill,  and  a  piece  of  gold  tinsel  three 
inches  long,  and  snooding  silk  twelve  or  fifteen 
inches  long,  which  must  be  well  waxed  with 
snooding  wax  by  drawing  the  silk  over  it  two 
or  three  times. 


Next  select  a  perfectly  clear  and  round  strand 
of  silk  worm  gut,  and  having  soaked  it  for  five  or 
ten  minutes  in  warm  water,  tie  a  loop  in  one  end 
and  cut  off  the  lower  part,  so  as  to  make  it  five 
inches  long.  Take  the  hook  by  the  bend,  hold- 
ing it  either  in  the  vise  or  between  the  thumb 
and  first  finger  of  the  left  hand,  (see  cut)  wind  the 


THE    ART    OF    FLY   TYING.  J 

wrapping  silk  spirally  around  the  shank  of  the 
hook,  the  turns  being  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
apart,  commencing  opposite  the  point  and  wind- 
ing to  within  one-eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  end, 
always  winding  the  silk,  and  in  fact  everything 
that  is  wound  on  the  \\oo\ifrom  you.  Now  lay 
the  gut  on  top  and  wind  closely  and  firmly  down 
to  where  you  commenced. 


Place  the  piece  of  gold  tinsel  on  top  of  the 
hook,  allowing  the  loose  end  to  lie  between  the 
thumb  and  finger  of  the  left  hand,  having  but 
one-quarter  of  an  inch  of  the  tinsel  on  the  hook. 
Take  two  turns  of  silk  around  it  one-quarter 
inch  from  its  end,  and  at  a  point  on  the  hook  mid- 
way between  the  barb  and  the  point,  (see  cut) 
wind  the  silk  loosely  around  the  shank  of  the 
hook,  continuing  up  the  gut  to  get  it  out  of  your 
way. 


8  THE    ART    OF    FLY   TYING. 

Wrap  the  tinsel  over  and  over  five  or  six  turns 
around  the  shank  of  the  hook  between  the  barb 
and  point,  catch  the  loose  end  with  the  plyers 
and  let  it  hang.  Unwind  the  tying  silk  and 
fasten  the  tinsel  with  three  turns  of  the  silk  and 
cut  off  the  surplus  tinsel. 

Then  tie  in  the  herl  at  its  point  over  the 
fastening  of  the  tinsel  with  three  turns  of  silk, 
after  you  have  previously  bunched  and  drawn 
them  between  your  thumb  and  finger  from  the 
point  to  the  butt  to  make  it  bushy.  Now  twist 
the  herl  and  tying  silk  together  with  a  rolling 
motion  between  thumb  and  finger,  (this  gives 
strength  to  the  herl),  and  carefully  wind  around 
the  shank  of  the  hook,  commencing  at  the 
upper  portion  of  the  tinsel  and  wrapping  up  to 
within  one-quarter  of  an  inch  of  the  end  of  the 
hook.  Untwist  the  silk  from  the  loose  ends  of  the 
herl,  catch  the  latter  with  the  plyers  and  let 
them  hang  down  ;  then  wind  over  the  herl  three 
or  four  turns  of  the  winding  silk  and  cut  off  the 
surplus  herl  close  to  the  wrapping. 

Take  the  hackle  which  you  have  selected,  by 


THE    ART    OF    FLY   TYING.  Q 

the  extreme  point  with  the  left  hand,  and  stroke 
back  the  fibres  with  the  thumb  and  finger  of  the 
right,  by  drawing  it  between  them;  (see  cut) 
now  with  your  scissors  cut  from  the  point  two 
or  three  hairs  on  each  side ;    next  lay  the  point 


underside  down  on  top  of  the  hook  and  over  the 
place  where  you  tied  in  the  herl,  and  tie  it  on 
also  with  three  or  four  turns  of  the  silk,  (see  cut 
on  page  10.)  Cut  off  the  point  left  over  after  it  is 
tied,  and  catch  the  quill  of  the  hackle  in  the  plyers 


IO 


THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 


and  twist  the  wrapping  silk  loosely  around  the 
gut.  Wind  the  hackle  around  the  hook  continu- 
ously up  to  within  one  thirty-second  of  an  inch  of 


the  end  of  the  hook,  being  careful  not  to  wrap  over 
the  turns  already  on  ;  let  the  plyers  hang  and 
wind  two  turns  of  silk  around  the  hackle  and 
hook.  Now  take  the  stilletto  and  pick  out  any 
fibres  of  hackle  which  you  may  have  wrapped 
over.  In  winding  on  the  hackle,  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  twist  it,  but  wind  it  on  edgeways 
with  the  underside  of  the  feather  toward  the 
point  of  the  hook.  Cut  off  the  end  of  the  hackle 
by  snipping  the  quill  only  close  to  the  winding. 
Stroke  back  the  fibres  at  the  head  of  the  fly 
toward  the  tail,  and  hold  them  down  with  the 
thumb  and  finger  of  the  left  hand,  and  wind 
over  them  at  the  root  of  the  hackle  of  the  last 


THE   ART    OF    FLY  TYING. 


II 


turn  of  the  feather  three  turns  of  silk,  then 
lay  a  loop  in  your  silk  by  placing  the  loose 
end  on  the  gut  three  inches  above  the  hook, 
and  wind  around  the  gut  inside  of  the  loop  thus 
formed,  four  turns  of  the  silk,  winding  it  the 
reverse -of  the  way  you  wrapped  it  around  the 
hook  in  making  the  fly.  Now  lay  the  loose  end 
of  the  silk  along  the  side  of  the  fly,  catch  the  silk 
by  the  loop  and  wind  it  around  the  head  of  the 


INVISIBLE  KNOT. 


12  THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 

fly  and  over  the  end  of  the  silk  on  its  side,  this 
will  undo  the  turns  around  the  gut,  when  you 
can  catch  hold  of  the  loose  end  and  pull  it  tight, 
thus  making  an  invisible  knot  and  a  small  head, 
which  is  a  great  desideratum  in  fly  tying.  (See 
cut.) 

Now  varnish  the  silk  wrapping  on  the  head 
by  using  a  pointed  stick  dipped  into  shellac  var- 
nish, and  the  fly  is  complete. 

SILK  BODY  HACKLE  FLIES. 

For  silk  body  flies  proceed  exactly  the  same 
as  in  the  description  for  a  herl  body,  until  you 
come  to  tying  in  the  herl,  in  place  of  which  cut 
off  four  to  five  inches  of  embroidery  or  floss  silk. 
If  of  the  former,  make  it  into  two  lengths  by  un- 
twisting it,  and  tie  in  the  two  ends  thus  formed 
on  top  of  the  tinsel.  Wind  your  tying  silk  up 
out  of  the  way,  catch  hold  of  the  silk  for  the 
body,  and  without  twisting  it  wind  it  over  and 
over  around  the  shank  of  the  hook  to  within 
one-quarter  of  an  inch  of  the  end,   making  it 


THE   ART    OF    FLY   TYING.  1 3 

larger  in  the  centre  and  a  gradual  taper  towards 
the  head  and  tail.  Catch  hold  of  it  with  the 
plyers,  let  them  hang  and  fasten  it  off  with 
three  turns  of  your  wrapping  silk,  and  cut  off 
the  surplus  body  close  to  the  wrapping.  Now 
proceed  with  your  hackle  exactly  the  same  as 
in  the  herl  body. 

MOHAIR  OR  WOOL   BODIES. 

Some  insects  can  be  best  imitated  with 
mohair  or  wool  bodies,  notably  flies  of  the  cater- 
pillar order,  like  Palmers  and  Hackles,  and 
the  cow  dung  in  the  winged  flies.  To  make 
these  you  will  find  crewel — a  material  used  for 
embroidery — very  satisfactory,  as  it  can  be  pro- 
cured in  almost  any  shade  of  color  desired. 
Cut  and  untwist  it  the  same  as  you  were  in- 
structed to  do  in  making  silk  bodies.  It  can 
then  be  wrapped  on  in  exactly  the  same  manner 
as  the  silk,  or  if  you  use  the  crude  mohair, 
which  at  times  is  preferable,  on  account  oLbeing 
able   to  more   nearly    match    the  color   of    an 


14  THE    ART    OF    FLY   TYING. 

insect,  as  two  or  more  colors  can  be  mixed  to 
form  a  body.  As  for  instance,  a  yellow  and 
green  to  make  a  greenish  yellow.  Pull  from  the 
bunch  a  small  quantity  and  roll  it  between  your 
hands.  Our  object  in  this  is  to  make  it  larger 
in  the  centre  and  a  gradual  taper  toward  each 
end,  thus  when  wrapped  on,  giving  the  swell  to 
the  body  of  the  fly  which  so  much  improves  its 
appearance.  This  is  wrapped  around  the  hook 
the  same  as  a  silk  body,  with  the  exception  that 
— unlike  silk — as  it  is  wrapped  it  requires  to  be 
slightly  twisted  to  give  strength  to  the  fibres, 
while  wrapping  otherwise  it  is  liable  to  pull 
apart  For  small  flies,  such  as  gnats  and  midges, 
this  body  is  often  used  without  any  hackle,  and 
the  legs  of  the  fly  which  the  hackle  represents 
are  picked  out  with  a  stilletto  at  the  head  after 
the  fly  is  made. 

PALMER  FLIES. 

We  will  now  take  up  the  Palmer  fly.  The 
difference  between  what  is  known  as  a  Palmer 
and  a   Hackle  fly  is   that  in   the   former   the 


THE  ART  OF  FLY  TYING.         15 


PALMER  FLY. 

hackle  is  tied  in  at  the  tail  of  the  fly  and  is 
wound  around  the  body  as  well  as  at  the  head. 
In  the  latter,  the  hackle  is  wound  on  at  the 
head  only.  Select  the  materials  and  wind  on 
the  gut  precisely  the  same  as  directed  for  mak- 
ing the  brown  hackle,  except  in  this  instance 
we  will  make  a  black  Palmer,  which  requires  a 
black  body,  and  is  wrapped  with  silver  tinsel. 
After  the  gut  is  snooded  or  wrapped  on  to  the 
hook,  select  your  hackle  and  press  back  the 
fibres,  ( see  cut,  page  9 )  and  cut  a  few 
hairs  from  each  side  of  its  point.  Let  it  lie 
over  the  left  hand  between  the  thumb  and 
finger,  tie  the  point  in  underside  down,  at  a 
place  midway  between   the  point  and  the  barb 


i6 


THE   ART    OF    FLY   TYING. 


of  the  hook.  Cut  off  a  piece  of  tinsel  four 
inches  long  and  tie  in  one  end  over  the  tying  of 
the  hackle,  allowing  the  loose  end  to  lie  back 
over  your  left  hand,  then  cut  off  a  piece  of  silk 
three  to  five  inches  long,  (depending  on  size  of 
hook  you  are  using)  and  untwist  it,  making  it 
into  two  lengths  ;  tie  in  the  two  ends  thus  made 


over  where  you  tied  in  your  hackle.  (See  cut). 
Now  wind  your  tying  silk  up  the  gut  loosely 
out  of  the  way,  catch  hold  of  the  loose  end  of 
the  silk  from  which  you  are  to  make  the  body, 
and  without  twisting  it,  wind  it  over  and  over 
around  the  shank  of  the  hook,  to  within  one- 
quarter  of  an  inch  of  the  end  of  the  hook,  mak- 


THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING.  I J 

ing  it  larger  in  the  centre,  with  a  gradual  taper 
towards  the  head  and  tail.  Catch  hold  of  the 
surplus  silk  with  the  plyers  and  let.  them  hang ; 
fasten  it  with  three  turns  of  the  tying  silk,  and 
cut  off  the  remainder  close  to  the  wrapping. 
Wrap  your  tying  silk  around  the  gut  as  before, 
catch  hold  of  the  loose  end  of  the  tinsel  with 
the  plyers  and  wrap  it  first  four  turns  around 
the  shank  of  the  hook  immediately  below  the 
body  and  underneath  the  hackle,  and  then 
spirally  up  and  around  the  body,  allowing  the 
turns  to  be  about  one  thirty-second  of  an  inch 
or  the  width  of  the  tinsel  apart.  Finish  off 
where  you  tied  off  the  body  one-quarter  inch 
from  end  of  hook  and  cut  off  the  surplus  tinsel. 
Wind  the  tying  silk  around  the  gut  as  before, 
catch  hold  of  the  end  of  the  hackle  by  its  quill 
with  the  plyers,  and  wind  it  spirally  edgeways 
around  the  body  of  the  fly  between  the  wrap- 
pings of  the  tinsel,  underside  of  the  feather  to- 
ward the  point  of  the  hook,  up  to  where  you 
have  tied  in  your  body,  where  it  must  be  wound 
closely  three  or  four  times,  taking  care  not  to 


18  THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 

wrap  over  the  turns  already  on.  Let  the  plyers 
hang  and  finish  off  in  the  same  manner  as  di- 
rected in  making  a  hackle  fly. 

The  hackle  and  Palmer  flies  are  excellent 
trout  and  bass  lures,  and  are  tied  in  various 
colored  bodies  and  hackles.  In  making  Palmer 
flies  for  bass,  the  bodies  should  be  made  large 
and  full  and  the  hackles  very  bushy  ;  and  fre- 
quently it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  do  this,  to 
tie  in  two  hackles  in  place  of  one,  and  wind  on 
both  together;  or  tie  in  the  first  hackle  and 
wind  it  up  to  the  end  of  the  body  only  and 
finish  it  off,  then  select  another  hackle  and  tie 
it  in  where  you  finished  off  the  first  hackle  in 
the  reverse  of  the  way  hackles  are  usually  tied, 
i.  e.y  tie  in  the  quill  and  wind  it  on  and  finish  as 
before. 

WINGED  FLIES. 

These  generally  are  of  two  kinds,  the  straight 
and  the  reverse  wing.  The  former,  in  our  opin- 
ion, if  well  put  on,  are  fully  equal  in  wearing 
qualities  to  the  reverse  wing,  while  in  appearance 


THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 


19 


are  more  desirable,  as  they  can  be  made  with  a 
much  smaller  head. 


Suppose  we  desire  to  make  the  Queen  of  the 
Waters.  We  select  a  piece  of  orange  silk,  a  brown 
hackle,  a  piece  of  gold  tinsel,  and  a  mottled 
feather  from  the  breast  of  the  mallard  duck,  and 
proceed  exactly  as  we  would  for  making  a  Palmer 
fly,  always  leaving  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  of 
the  hook  bare  at  the  head  in  thej making  of  a 
winged  fly  to  tie  the  wing  on,  as  it  will  be  firmer 
and  more  secure  and  make  a  smaller  head  than 
if   it   were   tied   around   the   fastening   of   the 


20  THE    ART    OF    FLY   TYING. 

hackle.  Now  take  the  mallard  feather  and  hold 
it  between  the  thumb  and  finger  of  the  left  hand 
by  its  point,  and  draw  the  fibres  back  from  the 
point  towards  the  quill  until  the  side  of  the 
feather  is  square  or  parallel,  and  each  fibre  is  at 
a  right  angle  to  the  quill;  on  doing  this  properly 
depends  largely  the  appearance  of  the  fly  after 


it  is  finished.  (See  cut.)  If  you  will  examine  a 
feather  with  the  microscope  you  will  find  each 
and  every  fibre  contains  hooks  on  each  of  its 
sides  which  lock  into  the  fibre  next  to  it,  and  our 
object  in  drawing  them  back  is  to  unhook  these 
and  cause  them  to  re-lock  themselves  in  a  dif- 
ferent position. 

Now  cut  with  the  scissors  close  to  the  quill  the 
quantity  required,  which  for  a  trout  fly  would  be 
about  one-half  of  an  inch,  double  it  with  the 
underpart  of  the  feather  inside.  (See  cut  on 
next  page). 


THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING.  21 


Now  grasp  the  fly  with  the  thumb  and  finger 
of  the  left  hand  around  the  hackle,  and  close  to 
where  you  desire  to  tie  the  wing  on,  place  the 
wing  in  its  proper  position,  (the  point  of  which 
should  reach  to  the  end  of  the  bend  of  the  hook,) 
and  grasp  it  firmly  with  the  left  hand,  holding  at 
the  same  time  the  hackles  at  the  head  of  the  fly 
down  close  to  the  body;  now  tie  it  down  with 
three  turns  of  your  silk,  do  not  loosen  your  hold 
on  the  feather  until  it  has  the  three  turns  secure- 
ly tied,  then  finish  off  with  the  invisible  knot  and 
varnish  the  head  the  same  as  previously  directed. 

TAILS. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  tie  a  tail  on  a  fly  pro- 
ceed as  directed  for  making  hackles  until  you 
are  ready  to  tie  in  the  body;  if  the  body  is  to  be 
wrapped  with  tinsel  make  three  or  four  turns  of 
it  around  the  shank  of  the  hook  and  catch  the 


22  THE    ART    OF  FLY  TYING. 

end  of  the  tinsel  with  the  plyers  and  let  them 
hang.  Now  cut  from  the  feather  you  dSire  to 
use  for  the  tail  two  or  three  fibres  from  each 
side  of  the  quill,  place  both  insides  together  with 
the  curve  of  the  feather  pointing  up,  convex  side 
down,  lay  them  on  top  of  the  hook,  fasten  with 
three  turns  of  the  tying  silk  on  top  of  the  wrap- 
ping you  made  in  fastening  on  the  tinsel,  then 
proceed  to  tie  in  the  hackle  if  it  be  a  Palmer 
fly,  or  the  body  if  not,  and  continue  as  before 
directed. 

REVERSED  WING  FLIES. 

To  make  reversed  wing  flies  cut  the  feather 
the  same  as  you  would  in  making  usual  winged 


flies,  except  that  it  requires  to  be  longer.  Snood 
the  gut  on  the  hook  as  usual  and  wind  back 
spirally  over  the  snooding  with  the  wrapping 


THE   ART    OF    FLY    TYING.  23 

silk  to  within  one-eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  end  of 
the  hook.  Now  lay  the  wing  which  you  have 
previously  cut  along  the  gut  with  the  convex  side 
up  and  with  the  butt  ends  of  the  feathers  on  top 
of  the  hook.  (See  cut.)  Hold  them  in  position 
by  grasping  them  together  with  the  hook  be- 
tween the  thumb  and  finger  of  the  left  hand, 
take  four  turns  of  the  wrapping  silk  around 
them,  now  cut  off  the  surplus  ends  of  the 
feathers  on  a  bevel  towards  the  point  of  the 
hook,  this  will  give  symmetry  to  the  body  of  the 
fly.  Then  continue  wrapping  with  the  tying 
silk  over  the  portion  so  cut,  and  from  thence 
spirally  to  end  of  the  wrapping  on  hook  and  pro- 
ceed to  tie  in  the  tinsel,  hackle,  etc.,  exactly  the 
same  as  if  you  were  making  a  usual  winged  fly 
before  described.  After  your  fly  is  completed, 
except  the  wings,  grasp  them  firmly  with  the 
right  hand  close  to  the  head  of  the  hook,  pull 
the  feathers  outward  and  at  the  same  time  bend- 
ing them  back  over  the  body  of  the  fly.  Now, 
with  the  left  hand  catch  hold  of  the  fly  wings, 
and  hackle,  and  tie  over  and  over,  close  to  the 


24  THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 

end  of  the  bend  of  the  wings  with  the  wrapping 
silk,  four  turns,  and  finish  off  with  the  invisible 
knot. 

Some  fly-tyers,  in  place  of  using  the  invisi- 
ble knot,  leave  one-sixty-fourth  of  an  inch  of  the 
end  of  the  hook  bare  after  the  wings  of  a  fly  are 
in  position  and  are  wrapped  on,  but  not  fastened 
off,  and  then  bend  the  gut  back  over  the  wings. 
Now  throw  over  the  bare  end  of  hook  which  was 
exposed  by  the  bending  back  of  the  gut  two  or 
three  half  hitches  of  the  silk  and  varnish  it,  this 
also  makes  a  perfectly  secure  fastening. 

Should  you  desire  at  any  time  to  make  the 
wings  of  a  fly  set  up  from  the  body,  bend  them 
back  toward  the  gut,  and  before  you  have 
fastened  them  with  the  invisible  knot,  wind'  two 
or  three  turns  of  the  tying  silk  around  the  body 
as  close  to  the  wings  as  possible;  by  this  means 
you  can  make  them  set  at  any  angle  desired. 

SCALE  WING  FLIES. 

These,  at  times,  are  a  very  desirable  fly,  and 
are  more   nearly  like   the  natural  insect  than 


THE    ART    OF    FLY   TYING.  2$ 

wings  made  from  feathers.  I  have  found  fish- 
scales  taken  from  the  shad  to  make  the  best 
wings.  During  the  season  collect  as  many- 
scales  as  you  desire,  freshly  taken  from  the  fish, 
and  dry  them  separately  on  blotting  paper,  as 
there  is  a  mucilaginous  substance  adhering  to 
them  that,  if  they  are  allowed  to  dry  in  contact 
with  each  other  it  will  cause  them  to  adhere  to 
one  another.  Cut  from  a  piece  of  card  board  a 
pattern  for  the  wing,  which  should  be  pear- 
shape  with  an  elongated  point.  Lay  this  pat- 
tern on  two  or  three  of  the  dried  scales  and  hold 
it  in  position  with  the  plyers.  You  can  then 
readily  cut  them  the  exact  shape  required. 

When  ready  to  tie  in  position  on  the  fly,  dip 
the  points  of  the  wings  in  water,  which  imme- 
diately causes  them  to  become  soft  and  pliable, 
and  they  can  then  be  tied  on  precisely  the  same 
as  a  feather.  These  wings  are  very  durable,  as 
the  property  of  softening  as  soon  as  water 
touches  them  prevents  the  fish  from  breaking 
them  off. 


26  THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 

SILK  WORM   GUT  BODIES. 

A  fly  made  with  this  material  is  very  durable 
and  attractive.  The  gut  can  be  colored  any 
hade  desired  with  "Diamond"  dyes,  after 
which  the  body  of  the  fly  should  be  wrapped 
with  silk  of  the  same  color  as  the  gut  which  you 
intend  using.  Soak  the  gut  in  warm  water,  tie 
it  in  and  wrap  it  on  over  the  silk  body. 

DYEING  GUT. 

The  famous  mist  color  for  leaders  and  gut,  for 
flies,  is  made  as  follows  :  Into  an  enameled  boiler 
that  will  hold  one  pint,  place  as  much  best 
quality  chip  logwood  as  will  go  into  a  tea-spoon; 
fill  the  boiler  with  water  and  let  it  come  to  a  boil. 
Allow  it  to  boil  for  ten  minutes,  take  it  off  the 
fire  and  place  in  it  as  much  sulphate  of  iron  as 
you  can  hold  on  a  ten  cent  piece  and  stir  it 
until  dissolved.  Now  place  the  gut  you  desire 
to  color  in  the  liquor  one  and  a  half  minutes, 
then  if  not  dark  enough  insert  it  again,  and 
allow  it  to  stay  until  it  has   the  desired  shade. 


THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING.  2J 

The  writer  has  used  this  recipe  for  years  and 
has  never  found  it  injurious  to  the  gut  in  any 
way. 

COLORING  FEATHERS. 

Feathers  for  flies  are  always  better  in  their 
natural  colors,  but  there  are  some  which  it  is  de- 
sirable to  use,  more  especially  in  hackles,  which 
it  is  impossible  to  procure  of  the  desired  shade. 
As  there  is  a  natural  oil  in  all  feathers,  and  more 
especially  in  feathers  from' the  duck  and  other 
water  fowl,  it  must  be  removed  before  the  dye 
will  take  effect  on  them.  Tie  in  bunches  of  one 
or  two  dozen  at  the  quill  end  and  make  a  suds 
of  soap  and  hot  water;  wash  thoroughly  and 
rinse  in  running  water.  Use  "  Diamond  "  dyes, 
which  for  this  purpose  I  have  found  both  good 
in  color  and  permanent. 

FLIES. 

It  now  only  remains  to  give  a  description  of 
the  flies  most'usually  used,  and  if  the  foregoing 
directions  have  been  carefully  followed  any  one 


28  THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 

of  the  following  can  be  readily  tied.  It  would 
be  well  to  remember  that  in  using  flies,  the  rule 
is  on  a  dark  day  to  use  light  colored  flies  and  on 
a  bright  day,  dark  or  more  sombre  colors.  Of 
course  this  rule,  like  all  others,  has  its  excep- 
tions. 

The  following  are  good  at  all  seasons  and  at 
all  stages  of  the  water  : 

Brown  Hackle  and  Brown  Palmer. — Pea- 
cock herl  body,  tipped  with  tinsel,  brown  hackle. 

Red  Hackle  and  Palmer, — also  called 
Soldier  Hackle. — Scarlet  body  ribbed  with 
gold  tinsel,  fiery  brown  hackle. 

Black  Hackle  and  Palmer. — Black  body 
ribbed  with  silver  tinsel,  or  copper  colored  pea- 
cock herl  tipped  with  tinsel.  These  are  also 
tied  with  scarlet  and  with  yellow  bodies. 

Gray  Hackle  and  Palmer. — Ash  gray  body 
ribbed  with  tinsel,  gray,  dominick  or  ash  hackle. 
When  the  latter  is  used  it  is  often  called  "ashey, 
ashev." 


THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING.  29 

Coachman. — A  good  evening  fly  or  on  a  dark 
day.  Body,  peacock  herl  tipped  with  tinsel, 
brown  hackle,  white  wings. 

Royal  Coachman. — Body  alternate  rings  of 
scarlet  silk  and  peacock  herl,  tipped  with  tinsel, 
brown  hackle,  white  wings.  This  fly  is  some- 
times tied  especially  for  bass,  with  a  tail  of 
barred  wood  duck  or  mottled  mallard. 

Grizzly  King. — Body  dark  green,  ribbed 
with  tinsel,  gray  hackle  tied  Palmer,  tail  scar- 
let Ibis  wings  mottled  mallard. 

Queen  of  the  Water. — Body  orange,  ribbed 
with  tinsel,  brown  hackle  tied  Palmer,  wings 
mottled  mallard. 

King  of  the  Water. — Same  as  queen,  but 
scarlet  body,  hackle  not  tied  Palmer. 

Cow  Dung. — Body  of  yellow  brown  mohair 
or  crewel,  brown  hackle,  wings  clay  yellow 
chicken  feather. 

Professor. — Body  yellow,  ribbed  with  tinsel, 
brown  hackle,  tail  scarlet  Ibis,  wings  mottled 
mallard. 


30  THE    ART    OF   FLY    TYING. 

White  Miller  or  Moth  Fly. — Body  white 
silk  or  chenille,  tipped  with  tinsel ;  white  hackle 
and  wings. 

Silver  Black. — Body  black  silk,  ribbed  with 
silver  tinsel ;  gray  hackle,  black  wings. 

Yellow  Sally. — Body  yellow,  ribbed  with 
tinsel ;  hackle  yellow,  wings  yellow. 

Governor  or  Brown  Hen. — Body  of  pea- 
cock herl,  tipped  with  tinsel  ;  brown  hackle, 
mottled  brown  wings. 

Grey  Cofflin. — Body  grey,  tipped  with  or- 
ange, hackle  cinnamon  color,  tail  two  fibres 
from  the  mottled  feather  of  the  mallard,  wings 
drab. 

Red  Spinner. — Body  wine  colored  silk,  ribbed 
with  tinsel;  hackle  brown,  tail  two  fibres  from 
a  brown  hackle,  wings  grey. 

Dark  Stone. — Body  dark  brown,  hackle 
yellow,  wings  clay  yellow. 

Shoemaker. — Body  grey,  ribbed  with  orange ; 
hackle  light  brown,  tail  mottled  mallard,  wings 
drab. 


THE    ART   OF    FLY   TYING.  3 1 

Whirling  Dun. — Body  dun  color,  hackle 
natural  red,  tail  two  fibres  from  mottled  mal- 
lard, wings  dun  color. 

BLACK  GNATS  AND   MIDGES. 

Body  ostrich  herl ;  if  for  a  gnat,  black  hackle ; 
if  intended  for  a  midge  fly,  use  no  hackle ;  wings 
drab. 

Scarlet. — Body  scarlet,  hackle  brown,  tail 
three  fibres  from  a  brown  hackle,  wings  brown. 

BASS  FLIES. 

All  the  Palmers,  and  for  Florida  waters, 
yellow  and  green  Palmer. 

Ferguson. — Body  yellow,  ribbed  with  tinsel ; 
hackle  light  green,  tail  scarlet  Ibis,  wing  wild 
turkey  tail  feather,  with  a  strip  of  yellow  on 
each  side. 

Montreal  or  Portland. — Body  scarlet, 
ribbed  with  tinsel ;  hackle  scarlet,  tail  Ibis ; 
wings  mottled  brown,  turkey  tail. 

Bee. — Body  peacock  herl,  ribbed  with  yellow 
silk  ;  hackle  brown,  wings  turkey  tail  feathers. 


32  THE    ART    OF    FLY    TYING. 

Army  Worm. — Body  yellow,  ribbed  with 
green  silk ;  hackle  gray,  tied  Palmer  and  four 
strips  of  peacock  herl  drawn  over  the  back  and 
tied  in  at  the  head,  no  wings. 

Academy. — Body  peacock  herl,  tipped  with 
scarlet  silk  ;  hackle  brown,  tied  Palmer  ;  tail 
Ibis  ;  wings  brown,  with  a  strip  of  Ibis  on  each 
side  of  them. 

Sellers. — Body  scarlet,  ribbed  with  tinsel  ; 
hackle  brown,  tied  Palmer;  wings  and  tail  alter- 
nate strips^  of  white,  scarlet  and  black. 

Black  June. — Body  peacock  herl,  hackle 
black,  wings  black. 

Governor  Alvord. — Body  peacock  herl, 
hackle  red,  wings,  under  wing  cinnamon,  upper 
wing  black. 

Black  Moosehead. — Body  black,  ribbed  with 
silver  tinsel,  tail  green,  hackle  black,  wings 
guinea. 

The  following  are  descriptions  of  natural  flies 
which  appear  on  small  streams,  as  per  Sarah 
McBride. 


the  art  of  fly  tying.  33 

In   April. 

Black,  gray,  claret  and  scarlet,  gnat,  dark 
fox,  blue  blow,  red  fox,  bright  fox, 

In  May. 

Black  May,  cow  dung,  great  dun  dotterel,  dun, 
red  spinner,  yellow  May,  hod  yellow  dun,  yellow 
Sally. 

In  June. 

Hawthorn,  shoemaker,  black  June,  dark  stone, 
green,  brown  and  gray  drake  raven,  wren  fly, 
Stebbins. 

In  July. 

Little  egg  lightning  bug  or  firefly,  little 
claret,  fceted  green. 

In  August,  September. 
Gray  and  brown  cofflin,  white  miller. 


A  Weekly  Journal,  devoted  entirely  to 

F$j,  Filing  and  Figh  dulfeitfe, 
Fhe    O^'y    O1"^2    fo    An\erica. 


Mr.  Seth  Green,  the  noted  fishculturist,  has  charge 
of  the  Fish  Culture  department. 


Send  for  Specimen  Copy  and  Catalogue  of 
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Hinds'  Black-fly  Cream, 

FOR  REPELLING  , 

Bladk-Flies,  Mosquitoes,  Midges 

-^^TX>     OTHEXi     INSECT'S, 

and  Protecting  the  Skin  from 
Sunburn,  Irritation  and  Infection. 

NO    TAR.  NO    STAIN. 

Containing    no    Animal    Fats. 


Its  efficacy  does  not  depend   upon    Oil    Pennyroyal   alone  (like 
»st.  compounds,)  and  would  be  equally  as  effective  without  it.     It 
washes  off  readily  and  leaves  the  skin  soft,  smooth  and  free  from 


irritation. 

Ladies  may  safely  use  it  on  the  most  delicate  skin. 

STATE   OF   MAINE. 

OFFICE   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OF  FISH  AND  GAME. 

Dixfield,  Feb.  25,  1883. 
Mr.  A.  S.  Hinds,  Portland. 

I  have  used  your  "Black  Fly  Cream"  and  have  found  it  a  sure 

preventive  against  Flies  and  Mosquitoes :   It  is  neat  and  clean I 

should  not  think  of  going  into  the  woods  in  Fly-time  without  it. 

H.  O.  STANLEY. 

Cynthiana,  Ky.,  April  23, 1883. 
Please  accept  my  thanks  for  the  "  Black-Fly  Cream"  received.   It 

is  the  most  elegant  preparation  for  the  purpose  I  have  seen 

will  take  great  pleasure  in  recommending  it. 
Yours  very  truly, 

J.  A.  HENSHALL. 

Glen  Falls,  Vt.,  June  15,  1884. 
Mr.  A.  S.  Hinds, 

Dear  Sir: — For  many  years  I  have  sought  after  the  insect  repel- 
lent and  have  tried  all  manner  of  compounds,  but  yours  is  the  most 
thorough,  at  the  same  time  cleanly,  and  not  disagreeable. 
Yours  truly, 

A.  NELSON  CHENEY. 

Portland,  Feb.,  27,  1883. 
Mr.  A.  S.  Hinds, 

Dear  Sir  : — I  used  you  "  Black-Fly  Cream  "  last  season  while 
trout  fishing  and  found  it  a  perfect  success;  was  not  troubled  with 
Mosquitoes  while  using  it.  It  is  the  cleanest  and  best  preparation  I 
ever  used.  P.  B.  BURNHAM. 

Price  25  cts.   per  Box,  by  mail  28  cts. 
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SPECIAL   RATES    FOR    SPORTSMEN. 

Address  the  undersigned  for  Guide  Books  and  General 
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